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Lowry house on tourist trail

26/ 7/2001

A PLAN to turn LS Lowry's former Pendlebury home into a Mecca for art lovers has drawn the attention of a leading museum expert.

Hilary McGowan came to the city on Wednesday to look at restoring the Station Road house where Lowry painted his greatest works, transforming it into a heritage centre.

As reported in The Advertiser, Brian and Theresa Roberts snapped up the great man's home last year and want to turn it into a national attraction which will see visitors flocking to the city.

They hope to restore the house to how it would have looked when Lowry lived there from 1908-1948 and believe his own sketches could add an air of authenticity.

The couple are teaming up with Salford City Council, who arranged the visit from museum and heritage consultant Hilary.

She will carry out a feasibility study into the project, assessing the viability of the idea and the funding needed to turn the five-bedroom terrace into a shrine.

Hilary oversaw a similar project in Scotland where the birthplace of explorer Dr David Livingstone was transformed into a museum.

She told us: "As I have no specialist knowledge of Lowry, I can remain impartial in assessing the viability of turning his house into a visitor centre, but I do know that his paintings are renowned worldwide."

Brian Roberts added: "Should the potential be realised, the house might become the centrepiece for a wider regeneration of Pendlebury in much the same way as the Bronte sisters have established the reputation of Haworth."

Salford council's collections officer Mike Leber confirmed there were moves to develop the house as a stand-alone visitor attraction or with links in to other Lowry sites in Salford.